For the latest trip to Tokyo, I made a Brompton handle for Blurple! Husband bought a really great removable strap handle on our last trip and it is so helpful. I decided to recreate the handle in colors appropriate for my bike.

Behold the handle for my Brompton!

This handle made it so much easier carry around when we were going from train to train or walking around. You aren’t allowed to have bikes on the train in Japan without them being bagged but you don’t if you are only cutting through a station. We did a lot of that!

The fabric is a vintage scrap I bought ages ago at a thrift shop in North Hollywood. It’s a heavy tapestry instead of the waterproof fabric and leather that the original is made from. Inside mine is lined with faux suede and has a cotton batting later for padding. The whole thing has deep purple grosgrain ribbon to sandwich the layers together. It took me a bit to work out how it should be put together but all in all a day of sewing if I had done the whole Brompton handle in one go.

Here is the inside…

It took a bit to figure out the curvature of the bits to go around the frame well.

The actual straps needed to be sewed on prior to adding the backing so that the frame would be scratched less easily.

Actually, a few layers of strapping were required to get the handle done as expected. Those d-rings are for adding a strap in case you want to hang it on your shoulder instead of carrying it in your hand.

The straps to hold the handle onto the bike took a few tries to ensure that they were not too long and not too short. I did a ALOT of test fits. Here is the whole thing laid out:

The sewing is a little messy but I just love how the handle came out over all and it makes me happy every time I see it on my bike.